(October 3, 2000) The Metropolitan Museum of Art will today debut a new Timeline of Art History on the Museum's Web site (www.metmuseum.org). The Timeline features works of art from the Metropolitan's encyclopedic collections, presented in a new chronological format giving browsers and scholars alike instant access to the art created at any given time in different cultures across the globe.
Over two years in development, this innovative feature allows Web visitors to explore art history by bringing works in various media, from around the globe, together with cultural and historical information relevant to the era in which they were created. Initially incorporating 300 works of ancient art at its launch, the Timeline will continue to be expanded over time to include the entire history of art. As a permanent feature of the Museum's Web site, the Timeline of Art History provides an accessible and comprehensive overview of the world's artistic production, enabling users to quickly scan millennia of art history.
The Timeline of Art History has been generously funded by Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn.
The premiere segment of the Timeline of Art History features the art of the ancient world, from 10,000 B.C. to 500 A.D. The Timeline is being launched to coincide with the opening of the Museum's millennium exhibition, The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West. This cross-cultural survey of 150 works is itself a global timeline of art produced at a particular moment some 2,000 years ago in the period just before and after 1 A.D. The show will be on view at the Metropolitan from October 3, 2000 through January 14, 2001. The next segments of the Timeline – featuring works from the Byzantine and medieval eras through the Renaissance and up to the present day – will also be launched in phases.
In announcing the launch of the Timeline, Philippe de Montebello, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commented: "This remarkable online tool for studying and understanding the cultures of the world through their artistic production adds a splendid enhancement to the Museum's educational resources. New data will be incorporated into the site as more and more of our collections are digitized and formatted to the Web. Like the Metropolitan's collections and, indeed, like time itself, the illustrated Timeline of Art History will thus continue to expand and evolve."
Mr. de Montebello further noted: "This is one more way that the encyclopedic collections at the Metropolitan can be utilized in an entirely new way to benefit the public. The innovative format in which we can now present our collections constitutes a unique historical overview, illustrating the multiplicity and breadth of the world's cultures with works of art of surpassing aesthetic quality. The Museum is most grateful for the generous support of Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn, without whose passion for both art and history this important project would not have been possible. It is an honor to be associated with benefactors who believe wholeheartedly in the power of art to educate and inspire."
Presently, more than 300 images as well as detailed maps and descriptive entries written by Museum staff enhance the comprehensive timeline that reflects the geographic, cultural, and historical sweep of the world's civilizations. From a global overview presenting all regions simultaneously, one can easily and quickly focus on a specific culture or region at a particular moment in history. Links to other features of the Museum's Web site, such as the Collection, Explore & Learn, Special Exhibitions, and Online Resources, offer the opportunity to go into even greater detail about a period, region, or related works of art in the collection. Alternatively, those looking at individual works in the Collections component of the Web site can quickly link to the Timeline to get an overview of the context in which a specific work was created.
Like the Metropolitan's collections, the Timeline will continue to evolve as new works are acquired by the Museum. Because it includes the most up-to-date scholarship, the Timeline will be invaluable to educators and students who visit the Metropolitan online in order to broaden their knowledge of art history through its unrivaled collections. For a class or other group planning to visit the Metropolitan, the Timeline can provide a concise overview of what to see in advance of a trip. It also offers an excellent resource for those who have visited the galleries and want more contextual or in-depth information about the collections.
Although the Metropolitan's Timeline of Art History focuses initially on the Museum's own holdings, it also includes key examples of works not found in the Museum. In addition, hundreds of links to relevant outside online sources further expand the scope of the Timeline's content.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Web site (www.metmuseum.org) was launched in October 1995 and substantially redesigned in January 2000. It receives an average of 12,000 to 14,000 visitors per day. In addition to the new Timeline of Art History, the Web site provides Internet users throughout the world with unprecedented access to the Metropolitan's collections, exhibitions, educational resources, calendar of programs, publications, shops, reproductions, and full range of activities and holdings. The site is visually rich with works of art from the Metropolitan's collections, and has special features created specifically for the Web site, including an interactive Museum calendar, Met Net memberships, exhibition previews, educational features, and monthly newsletters, as well as personalized areas in which visitors can, for example, store images of their favorite works of art and create a customized calendar. New features and information are added on a continuing basis.
October 3, 2000
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